So Shelly

By: Ty Roth

BOOK TALK

Gordon Byron and John Keats are only passing high school acquaintances until their dead friend, Michelle “Shelly” Shelley, brings them together. Orphaned Keats lives with his dying brother on the wrong side of town. Neighbors since childhood, Byron and Shelly grew up privileged but neglected rich kids on the shore of Lake Erie. Writing for the school paper and their sense of romance helped Keats and Shelly build a friendship, with Keats getting only a passing glance from literary prodigy Byron. When Bryon enlists Keats to steal Shelly’s ashes to fulfill her last wish, the trio’s epic journey and friendship really begins. But the trip to sprinkle Shelly’s ashes on her beloved Lake Erie Island also forces Keats and Byron to face tragic events of the past and figure out how to shape their future without another “So Shelly” moment.